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Hi I have a koralia 240 right on top of my diffuser, does this help co2 around the tank by any means? The timny bubbles blow around the tank before it reaches to the surface and then pops. Does co2 diffuse into the water when it pops? Or it happens while the bubbles moving around?because if its when it pops then this is useless becauss everything pops at the surface

 

[patfat]

I do the same exact thing in my tank.. I've heard many others do it for their tanks since the longer the co2 is under water the better it is.. Do you have your 240 right side up or upside down?? lol well really I don't know what is right side up or what's up side down... Hah

 

[roostertech]

Ideally CO2 should be dissolved and you shouldn't see bubble at all. What you see popping at the surface is wasted co2.

Circulation is good to distribute co2 and nutrient to the plant whether you inject co2 or not.

 

[patfat]

Whats your suggestions on dissolving the co2 better?

 

[[email protected]]

Patfat, it's upside down because the top of the pump is where it takes most of the water in, and co2 bubbles just reach the surface because of this, put it upside down it doesnt let the bubbles go up it goes into the koralia , and the ones that dont end up circuling the pump and end up going in it anyway.

Roostertech what do you mean you shouldnt see bubbles? Ceramic diffuser produces bubbles

 

[patfat]

Patfat, it's upside down because the top of the pump is where it takes most of the water in, and co2 bubbles just reach the surface because of this, put it upside down it doesnt let the bubbles go up it goes into the koralia , and the ones that dont end up circuling the pump and end up going in it anyway.

Roostertech what do you mean you shouldnt see bubbles? Ceramic diffuser produces bubbles

Alright ya that's have I have mine also!! Hah!! I still feel that a lot gets missed and goes up even though tiny bubbles come out my diffuser any ways

 

[[email protected]]

Im confused if diffuser bubbles reach the surface and co2 is lost whats the point of using it its like saying its 0% efficient and no co2 is being dissolved?

 

[patfat]

Ideally CO2 should be dissolved and you shouldn't see bubble at all. What you see popping at the surface is wasted co2.

Circulation is good to distribute co2 and nutrient to the plant whether you inject co2 or not.

Better explanation please...op and myself are confused

 

[roostertech]

Cerramic diffuser diffuse small micro bubble. The better diffuser will make smaller bubble and require higher PSI to operate. This give the bubble the most chance to get completely dissolved before floating to the top. The best way to visualize is to look at the co2 bubble in this ladder diffuser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry4IUaS4gIo

Co2 bubble is big at the bottom, but as it spend more time in contact with tank water it get smaller and eventually completely disappear. Different type of diffusion has different level of efficiency (how much you pump in vs how much is dissolved and become useful).

Ceramic low pressure diffuser probably has the lowest efficiency as it produce huge bubble
Co2 reactor probably has the highest efficiency as most co2 is dissolved inside the reactor itself and you don't get gazillion bubble in your tank

So you can achieve the same co2 concentration with whatever method you use. It would just take more co2.

 

[[email protected]]

My ISTA diffuser releases wayyyyy tinyer bubbles then that bubble ladder, so I guess mine is more efficient?

I recently added a surface skimmer, and I realized my plants werent doing so well now it makes sense I use to have a surface scum and the bubbles would get stuck on the surface which should hold the co2 longer correct? But now surface is clear everything is poppig to the surface and going down the skimmer mixed with air creating oxygen

 

[houseofcards]

I've always just positioned my ceramic diffuser under my spray bar usually mounted on the left glass at a 45 degree angle and all was good with co2 distribution. This worked fine for 3 - 4 foot tanks.

 

[[email protected]]

Is my theory correct?

 

[houseofcards]

In theory the longer the co2 bubble is under the water the more it will dissolve, but there are two theories to what's more effective not seeing any bubbles or having the micro bubbles floating around and attaching to the plant leaves. Both work. I like the wider flatter discs like the Rhinox 5000 to spray the co2 around.

 

[BaltimoreGuy]

Your doing the best you can with what you have on hand. You will always have tons of bubbles and lots escaping from the water as long as you use a diffuser. Only when you switch to an inline reactor that you can get the co2 to dissolve better. It may seem like a lot are escaping but in reality you have a ton of co2 being absorbed by the water, just judging by the amount of bubbles in there. Do you have a drop checker?

Maybe consider placing the diffuser below the intake of the surface skimmer and let it suck in the bubbles. That should help, as long as it doesn't build up too much and gurgle around in your canister filter.

 

[josephla]

If you want optimum co2 diffusion, I would look into building a Rex Grigg style co2 reactor. i've always had great luck in the past with one and just finished building a new one yesterday, for my current setup. I will post a photo on my journal soon.